Mining machine



SPt 21,1954r F.BA|NBR|DGE 2,689,721

MINING MACHINE Filed Feb. l0, 1949. Y '4 ShetS-Sheet l c5 '\l I m N N S SSNA l NQ. Q l@ QQ g la D Y 'H j j E! im Ri -D Sept. 21, 1954 F. BAINRIDGE MINING MACHINE 4 SheetsfSheet 2 Filed Feb. l0, 1949 F. BAINBRIDGE MINING MACHINE Sept.` 21, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 1o, 1949 Sept. 21, 1954 F. BAINBRgDGE 2,689,721

MINING MACHINE Filed Feb. 1o, 1949 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Patented Sept. 21, 1954 MINING MACHINE Featherstone Bainbridge, Fenham, Newcastle-on- Tyne, England, assigner to Huwood Milling Machinery Limited, Gateshcad-on-Tyne, England, a company of Great Britain Application February 10, 1949, Serial No. 75,697

Claims priority, application Great Britain February 12, 1948 6 Claims. 1

This invention of improvements in and relating to the mining or winning of coal or other material is concerned with that method of operation (hereinafter termed method of the kind described) in which material is obtained by slicing or stripping it from a face by means of a device, herein for convenience termed a plough, which is traversed under power along the face and is provided with a wedge formation and a cutting edge to cut and lever away the material.

The plough has been constructed to slide over the oor and to direct coal on to a conveyor laid along the face and it has been kept up to the `coal `face by running it along the oor in contact with the conveyor structure which has been made appropriately heavy or massive for the purpose.

This method of operation, heretofore applied to coal mining, requires no undercutting of the coal, and no shot firing to break down the coal f and the loading of the coal on to the conveyor has been effected by the plough concurrently with the cutting.

It is therefore a simple method and in appropriate circumstances has obvious advantages ,from the economical and practical stand-points.

`an improved apparatus whereby the winning of `hard coals or similar hard materials by the above method may be effectively carried out.

According to this invention a plough for use in the mining or winning of coal or other material by a method of the kind described and which plough as it proceeds along the face, is

made to cut a kerf in the material to receive the thin end of the wedge formation of the plough, is characterised in that the kerf-cutting means .of the plough comprises a series of spaced picks or cutters having forward and backward movements with intervening upward and downward movements on the plough, said picks or cutters being operative by quickly repeated jigging movements to cut away the material and form the kerf.

It will be realised that the picks or cutters operate by movements somewhat similar to the action of a miners pick cutting a kerf, that is to say, a rotary kindV of digging or picking action, and this is very effective for the forming of the kerf for the plough in hard material.

Provision may suitably be made for varying the length of the series of picks or cutters to enable the plough to be, used along faces of different heights.

The invention will be more particularly described in connection with the mining `of coal but it may be used for the Winning of otherl materials Where similar conditions apply. It may, of course, be applied to the mining of soft coal if desired' but as willbe understood its more particular purpose is the cutting of hard coal or the like.

In order to enable the invention to be readily understood reference is directed by way of example to the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a plan of coal-mine workings showing a plough according to` the present improve- `ments in operation on a coal face.

Figure 2 is a View to a larger scale showing part of the coal face, a sectional plan of the plough and a part, in plan, of a conveyor for taking away the coal removed from the face.

Figure 3 is a rear elevation of parts shown in Figure 2,

Figure 4 is a sectional elevation looking toward the right-hand end of Figure 2 and the left-hand end of Figure 3,

Figure 5 embodies a View similar to Figure 4 p of a modified form of plough, and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary View, corresponding to Fig. 3, illustrating another modification.

In Figure 1 a coal face I is shown in process of being stripped by the plough 2 which is mountwhich are embodied in portable structures 6, 1.

These latter are fitted with wheels engaged with tracks 8, 9 so that they may be moved up as the face I advances, as indicated by the arrows. They may be so moved up by rotary sylvesters and haulage ropes, not shown, and at the same time as theyare advanced, sylvesters or jacks are also applied, at spaced points indicated along the face by the lines 66, to the remainder of the conveyor structure between such end sections, so as to move that up as well. The plough 2 is of broadly known form in that it embodies a structure which has wedge-formations at I0, presented in opposite directions, which are operative to attack the coal face I somewhat like the edge end of a chisel. As will be understood, one wedge-formation of the plough 2 is effective in one direction of travel of the plough along the coal face and the other is-effective when the movement of the plough is in the opposite direction. The coal removed by the plough is loaded thereby after usual manner on to the conveyor 3, suitably laid along the face parallel thereto. This conveyor is of chain-scraper type though a trough conveyor with belt could be used if desired.

The wedge formations I of the plough are disposed on a part I2 of the plough, Figures 3 and 4, which is carried on a main body or carriage II mounted to travel along the face on vertical and horizontal Wheels I1, I8 respectively which run in channel-section track members 24 supported on side members I9 of the conveyor troughing I9, 2I.- The movement of the plough may be effected in any suitable manner as by haulage rope and winch though the preferred arrangement shown comprises an endless haulage rope 46 and is' described in detail in the specication belonging to the concurrent patent application Serial No. 75,699, filed February 10, 1949.

The part l2 of the plough having the wedge formations Ill, and which will for convenience be hereinafter referred to as the wedge part, overhangs the adjacent side of the conveyor troughing and extends substantially to the level of the oor I3 along the face I and nearly to the level of the roof. The wedge formations IIJ are dened by renewable wedging blades I4 lwhich in plan extend curvedly at an incline outwardly and rearwardly from the thin ends, and along the sloping part, of the wedge formations towards the main body II, see Figure 2. Between the Wedging blades I4 and end parts I5 of the main body I I which slope downto floor level and serve to clean the floor of remnants of broken down coal, the plough has inclined ramps or scoops IB which guide the main broken-down coal into the conveyor troughing.

For cutting a kerf 2l, Figure 2, a vertical series of picks or cutters 28 is provided at each end of the wedge part I2 of the plough. These picks 28 are adapted to move in a circular path and for this purpose the sets of picks are mounted on a carrier 29 which is a sort of H-shaped structure of unitary form and has the picks disposed down the sides of the H on the outside edge see Figure 3. This carrier 29 is holed at two places (as at 39 Figure 2), on the cross-bar part of the H and spans across the outer ends of the two the picks are retracted, the

4 Wedging blades I4 of the Wedge formations I0 of the plough 2. It may contact slidably with these ends of the blades I4 which are chamfered to provide ilat surfaces 3| parallel with the coal face, see Figures 2 and. 3. The holes 39 of the carrier 29 are fitted with bearing bushings 32 ,by which the structure is mounted on roller bearings 33 on a pair of eccentrics 34, carried on roller bearings 35 on short horizontal xed spindles 36. Onl 7 one of the eccentrics and associated parts are Yshown in Figure 2 but it is believed that this will be sufficient for a proper understanding thereof. As will be seen from Figure 2, the cross-bar of the H -shaped carrier 29 is set back from the plane of the sides of the H to accommodate it in the outer compartment 31 of a doubly compartmented gear box which is supported on or embodied in the wedge part I2 of the plough body and extends along between the wedging blades I4. The spindles 3S are mounted in the Walls of this gear box, and concentric hub parts 33 of the eccentrics 34 thereon carry gear wheels 39, see also Figure 3. These mesh with'a central gear wheel 49 that is driven by a pinion 4I on a drive shaft (not shown) whichV extends into the inner compartment 42 of the aforesaid gear box and carries therein a gear wheel 43. The latter is meshed with gear wheels 44 mounted on the shafts of a pair of hydraulic or other motors 45which extend over the conveyor 3 and form part of the main bridge-like structure II of the plough 2. There is an advantage in using two motors 45 for operating the picks 28 because they can be smaller than if a single motor were employed.

It will now be apparent that under the action ofthe drive from the motors 45, the eccentrics 34 will cause the picks 28 to have quickly repeated -movements arising from the motion of the carrier 29 which will receive forward and' backward movements with intervening upward and downward movements from the eccentrics. The sets of picks will suitably be withdrawn to the outer edge of the wedging blades I4 on the retractive or backward movement and be projected forward with a rotary motion from that edge to eifect a cutting action on the downward movement component. Thus, each set of picks is able to form a vertical kerf in advance of the adjacent wedging blade I4, the kerf being constantly maintained and formed so that after each fresh lcut when outer end of the corresponding wedging blade I4 can nose itself into the kerf and exert leverage to break away the coal. Of course, it is only'the forward set Yof picks 28 which is eiective at any one time. On traverse of the plough in one direction one set of picks is operative, while in the opposite direction of traverse, the other set is effective for kerf cutting. Thus, in Figure 2 the set of picks on the left is operative to cut the kerf 21, the plough being traversed in the direction shown by the arrow. Tn Figure 3 the same set of picks appears retracted. The depth of the layer of coal removed by the according to circumstances. The horizontal wheels I8 engaging the tracks 24 on opposite sides of the conveyor structure, in plan, are arranged at the four corners of a truncated isosceles triangle whose apex is on the face side of the conveyor. This arrangement is a desirable oneto take up lateral stresses on the plough and thus prevent slewing of it with respect to the coal face during the operation of the plough. The wheels I1 will prevent the plough 2 fromrising plough may usefullybe 12 inches in hard coal, though obviously the depth may be varied on either side and the track members 24 with which they, and the Wheels i3, engage lend weight to the conveyor structure which is of relatively heavy construction. Altogether, therefore, the wedge part lf2 o f the plough is kept. substantially7 true with respect to the face l and as will be understood this makes for very efficient operation of' the plough in cutting the kerf and slicing or stripping the face layers.

It will be apparent that the bridgeelike main body l i of the plough 2, as illustrated by Figure 4, extends from side to side over the conveyory at a good height. This form of the plough is intended for use on a normal coal sean-1, say 3 6" (about 1 metre) high which is relatively high compared with some seams. At the height stated the bridging part of the plough is sufficiently high above the conveyor 3 to enable the cut coal, brought into the conveyor troughing by plough ramp or scoop I6, to pass beneath the bridge to delivery from the conveyor at the main gate 4, when the plough is operating during travel from the main gate 4 to the tail gate 5. Thus, the plough can be operative in both directions of traverse thereof along the face. In one direction, of course, i. e. with the plough moving unidirectionally with the conveyor scrapers or belt, the coal does not need to pass the bridge but when stripping the face by moving the plough in the opposite direction the coal scooped on to the conveyor must pass the plough and it does so through the bridge-form main body or carria'ge II.

In a modified example for use with low seams, the conveyor construction and the mounting of the plough 2 on the conveyor may be similar to those above described as shown in Figure 5. The bridge-form main body or carriage Il of the plough, however, is of atter construction with the motors 45 for driving the kerf cutting picks 28 in a lower position. In this example, the bridge cannot be high enough for the coal to pass through it and therefore the plough is made operative to strip coalfrom the face in one direction of traverse only of the` plough'along the face, being itted back to the starting point for a fresh cut.

According to a further modification and in order to provide for operations of the plough in higher seams, the carrier 29 of the picks 28, and the series of picks themselves, may be extended upwardly as shown by Way of example at in Figure 6. This provision can be carried out by fitting additional pick-carrying parts to the carrier or by making the side parts of the H- shaped carrier structure detachable and replacing them by pick-carrying parts but of extended height. Similarly, for lower seam ploughs (cf. Figure 5), detachable pick parts of this nature may be fitted.

The invention is not limited to the constructions thus particularly described because other modifications are possible without departing from the scope of the invention.

It is an advantage of the invention that the plough 4can be adapted to cut practically the full height of the seam because it provides for a clear cut of the face from top to bottom.

The apparatus described may be provided with features, other than those already referred to, to be found described in my specifications belonging to the concurrent patent applications Serial Nos. 75,698 and 75,699, each of which was led February 10, 1949.

`whole series of Iclaim:

1. A plough for stripping material froman upstanding face underground, comprising a carriage, a wedge formation at the forward end of said carriage, said wedge formation comprising a sub stantially vertical surface which is inclined towards said face and at the thin end thereof the wedge merges into an edge which is disposed to extend substantially parallel to said face in the top-to-bottom direction of such face, a carrier mounted on said carriage and extending `at least substantially throughout the height of said edge in the region thereof, a series of spaced cutters disposed `iixedly on said carrier in said' region to project outwardly beyond said edge and so as to extend substantially parallel to said edge and substantially parallel toY said face in the top-tobottom direction thereof, and means on. said carriage operative to impart to said carrier in a plane substantially parallel to said face quickly repeated forward and backward movements with intervening upward and downward movements on said carriage whereby the said spaced cutters are also given quickly repeated forward and backward movements with intervening upward and downward movements on said carriage with the them moving as one in a plane substantially parallel to said face.

2. A plough according to claim l, further characterised by additional cutters disposed to extend said series of spaced cutters in its own plane at the top of the thin end of the wedge formation of the plough.

3. A plough according to claim 1 and wherein the plough has a wedge formation at each end thereof, further characterised by a carrier of unitary form having a series of spaced cutters at each of the opposite ends thereof, the said carrier extending, at both ends, at least substantially throughout the height, and parallel to the edge, of the adjacent thin end of the concomitant wedge formations in the region of such edge and the two series of spaced picks or cutters being presented in opposite directions and disposed on said carrier in said region and so that each series extends in the top-to-bottom direction of said face and substantially parallel thereto.

. 4. A plough for stripping material from a face underground, comprising a carriage having the form of a bridge, al wedge part disposed on the face side of said bridge and presenting wedge formations in forward and rearward directions, the thinner end of each of said wedge formations being disposed to extend substantially parallel to said face in the top-to-bottom direction of such face, a set of eccentrics revolubly mounted on said wedge part, a carrier mounted on said eccentrics and extending, at both ends, at least substantially throughout the height of the adjacent thinner end of the concomitant wedge formations in the region of the extremity of such thinner ends, two series of spaced cutters mounted on the respective ends of said carrier to project outwardly beyond said ends of said wedge formations, said two series being presented in opposite directions and disposed on said carrier in said region and so that each series extends substantially parallel to saidface in the top-to-bottom direction thereof, motor apparatus disposed at the top of said bridge, and driving gear operative between said motor apparatus and said eccentrics, the latter being operative to impart to said carrier quickly repeated forward and. backward movements with intervening downward movements on said carriage.

upward and 5. A plough according to claim 1 and in which the carriage is a structure in the form of a bridge disposed to extend normal to the direction of the face, said structure comprising, at the top of the bridge, a motor Vapparatus geared with the means which operate the carrier for the series of cutters, and, at' the face end of said bridge, the wedge formation, on which said carrier is mounted, is substantially parallel to the face.

6. A plough according to claim l, further characterized in that the wedge formation of the ploughcomprises a renewable Wedging blade which is straight in Vertical section and, in plan, extends curvedly at an incline outwardly and rearwardly from the forward edge of such wedge formation, said edge extending substantially parallel to, and in the region of, the series of `cutters and for the preponderant part of the height of the face.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Number Name Date McDonald Feb. 26, 1884 Clerc Jan. 19, 1886 Brackett Y Nov. 24, 1925 Morgan Apr. 30, 1929 Morgan Apr. 30, 1929 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Great Britain Jan. 29, 1875 

